of steps, twists, and turns
by Winter Thunder
Summary: Levy and Gazille take steps forwards and backwards, life takes twists, paths take turns. The evolution of their relationship. Interrelated oneshots; nonchronological. Five: Girls play dress up, Levy is insecure, Gazille is in shock.  Updated!
1. another step

**Summary:** Levy and Gazille take steps forwards and backwards, life takes twists, paths take turns. The evolution of their relationship. Series of interrelated oneshots; nonchronological. _One: He was the traitor. He had lied and betrayed her on so many levels.  
_

* * *

**of steps, twists, and turns**

levy x gazille

_one: another step_

* * *

It was over.

Ivan was dead. Raven Tail had been destroyed, like Phantom had, but the battle had been longer, harder, and much more devastating in so many ways, especially since the leftovers of the Balam Alliance had swarmed to Raven Tail.

Gazille didn't even want to have to think of how long it would take to deal with the aftermath. He didn't want to have to even deal with the aftermath.

Which was why he was currently not attempting to move an inch from his spot on the ground, as uncomfortable as it was. There was rock and rubble digging into his back, as well as sharp God-knows-whats that were poking him all over.

Then there was the fact that he was completely and utterly drained of magical and physical energy and he wasn't even sure if he _could_ move at all. And of course, he was losing a lot of blood, and quickly, from his numerous large, deep injuries. Pain didn't even begin to describe the fire that was currently raging through his body. That also meant that he was basically lying in a pool of his own blood, which was a pretty unpleasant mental image for him, seeing as he already felt like he was about to die anyways.

The icing on the cake was that he was pretty sure that no one except Makarov would even care if he died, and he was pretty sure Makarov was down for the count, like almost every other mage of Fairy Tail. And if he wasn't, then he was probably busy dealing with every other injured mage, or whatever it was that people had to deal with after a battle. He had amazing luck, he really did.

The cherry on top was that he was pretty sure he had some kind of concussion because his mind was more than just a little fuzzy and he kept seeing black. Well, whatever it was, his head was in a hell of a lot of pain and chances were that that wasn't going to be changing anytime soon.

Life was fan-fucking-tastic. Absolutely peachy.

Never mind that he'd been instrumental in bringing down Ivan and Raven Tail, because _of course_ no one knew he'd been a double agent. He was going to die alone and a traitor. Great.

If breathing hadn't been so hard for Gazille—he was pretty sure he was only going on one lung, since the other one had probably collapsed at some point—he'd have laughed at the absurdity of his situation.

Fuck.

This was not how he pictured going out, and for God's sake, he still had to find out what happened to Metallicana, the arrogant jackass. He was too young for stupid shit like dying.

He cursed mentally and then groaned as he coughed up blood and sent pain ricocheting through his body.

Did the sky just turn green, or was he really losing it?

"…Gazille! _Gazille_!"

Huh. That sounded like Levy.

Gazille winced inwardly. He'd been trying not to think about her.

His Levy.

His _girlfriend._

The girl, the mage that he kind of maybe loved. Not that she knew that, of course. It had taken them months after the S-class exams to even start interacting more regularly, let alone for her to build a _real_ trust of him and _really_ get to know him. And it had taken them _years_ to get to the point that they had been at before the battle. He didn't even want to think about how long it had taken him to work up the guts to ask her to just go on a mission with him.

Which would be the point where Gazille had just figured out exactly how important she was—of _course._ Life couldn't cut him a fucking break, could it? He just _had_ to turn into a fucking sap right before—who was he kidding? Levy changed everything.

She just didn't know it. But to be fair, no one did.

He'd really like to kiss her one more time. You know, if he was going to die. Maybe tell her he loved her, but maybe it'd be easier for her to move on if he didn't?

Oh wait.

He was the traitor. He had lied to her and betrayed her on so many levels.

Fuck.

Even if he didn't die in the miserable pit he was currently lying in, he really did_ not_ want to have to deal with her hating him. Death was preferable. He didn't think he could handle the sight of those cinnamon colored eyes filled with hate and revulsion.

"…oh _God_, Gazille, can you hear me? Stay with me, Gazille! _Gazille_!"

Maybe he wasn't dreaming. He felt the hand that was slightly less injured than the rest of him being held tightly.

"Dammit, Gazille, stay with me, don't you _dare_ fucking leave me!" Levy screamed at him. She sounded scared and furious and on the verge of tears all at once. Normally she would have been shaking him, if she sounded like that, but she probably figured out that it would have been a bad idea to do that. She was smart.

_That's my Levy. She's amazing._

Gazille was definitely not thinking coherently anymore. He could vaguely make out a mass of blue right above him. He coughed up blood again and wanted to recoil at the pain that once again lanced through him.

"L-Levy?"

"Gazille!" Had he been able to see her face clearly, he would have seen relief written all over her worried face. As it was, the relief in her voice was nearly palpable. "Gazille, I'm here. I'm right here. Look at me, _please_, look at me!"

"Y-you're," he groaned. It was so damn hard to talk. "Y-you're," he tried again, "here."

"Of course I'm here, you idiot—Gazille, _Gazille_, no, you keep your eyes open! _Dammit_, stay with me, don't you dare leave me!" Levy's voice cracked and he felt something warm and watery hit his face. He felt it again a second later. And again.

"D-don't…s-stop," he rasped, "cry…ing…"

"The healer mages are coming," Levy sobbed, "please, please don't leave me. They're coming. You're going to be okay. Keep your eyes open, Gazille," she babbled through her tears.

"Y-you came," the Iron Dragon Slayer gasped out. He really wasn't hallucinating.

"Of course I did, I had to find you—I lost track—of _course_ I did, idiot. What am I going to do without you, I haven't even told you that I love you yet!"

Huh.

He tried to speak again.

_Stop crying, woman._

"Gazille? Nononono, _Gazille, NO_!"

* * *

It was bright. Really, painfully bright.

Gazille's dark onyx eyes focused on the familiar rafters of Fairy Tail's healing wing. His mind was completely fuzzy and he honestly had no idea what was going on or why he was in the healing wing.

Oh.

Right.

His eyes slid shut.

That.

He tried to sit up—"Mother of—_f-fuck!_" he snarled, then immediately regretted it when even speaking intensified the pain.

The person holding his hand jumped awake. "Gazille!"

The Iron Dragon Slayer froze. Shit. Levy. Fuckfuckfuck.

"You're awake," she breathed. "Oh, thank God. I was so—you—_never_ do that again."

"You're here," he said almost wonderingly, shoving aside thoughts of the throbbing pain in his body. "Levy?"

"It's me, I'm here, you dumb, stupid, reckless—oh, Gazille." Levy broke off and buried her head in the bed and squeezed his hand even tighter. "I….oh, God." She mumbled into the blankets.

"You're here," he said again.

She raised her head and gave him a watery smile, tears shining in her warm, cinnamon eyes.

"I'm here."

"You…you came for me," he remembered. "You came."

"I love you."

"You're _here._"

"I love you."

"You _stayed._"

"I love you."

"But…I…everything I did…I—you—"

"I _love_ you."

He just stared at her. If he knew her, she didn't leave his side once since she found him. She couldn't have been told that he had been a double agent yet. That meant…she…even though she thought he…

Gazille grinned.

"Say it again," he half-asked.

She kissed his hand.

"I love you."

* * *

**disclaimer: **I do not own Fairy Tail or anything related to it; I do, however, own this story idea/plotline/etc.

**written:** 17 January 2011

**published: **18 January 2011

**word count:** 1,358

**notes:**

-This is my first Fairy Tail fanfiction, and my first fanfiction in god-knows-how-many years. (So, yeah, I'm pretty nervous) I couldn't sleep and I had to have LevyGazille, but it hasn't officially become canon (YET) and I've read all the LevyGazille fanfiction (not much) so I was like, what the hell, I'll just wing it. Levy and Gazille haven't been heavily featured and there's not a whole lot of character development, especially as far as Levy goes (I don't know about the anime, I gave up on it because of the shitty animation) so I took some, ah, artistic liberties.

-Yeah, I spell Levy with a "y" and I spell don't spell Gazille's name "Gajeel" because the utter badassery is just completely lost. In my opinion, anyways.

-I see this as several years after the current arc (I tried to show that in the story when I mentioned the years it took for their relationship to progress to this point), when they're both in their twenties and Levy is much tougher (hence her cussing), older (well duh), and more mature.

-It was really Gazille-centric, I know, but it was pretty short...right? Haha, it's four pages on Microsoft Word. I hope I pulled off the fluff without making it extra-fluffy. I couldn't really figure out how to end it, but I couldn't have Gazille say it back just yet because I don't feel like he's ready to, you know? He doesn't seem like the kind of person that would suddenly say something to big, even after what happened. But I could be wrong.

**request(s):**

-If you caught any mistakes (of any kind), please let me know!

-Tell me how it turned out and _review_, yeah?

-Come back for the next storydrabblething if you liked it?


	2. turn

**Summary: **Levy and Gazille take steps forwards and backwards, life takes twists, paths take turns. The evolution of their relationship. Series of interrelated oneshots; nonchronological. _Two: Perplexing. Mysterious. Strong. Gazille. "Crap. Levy, go to sleep."_

* * *

**of steps, twists, and turns**

levy x gazille

_two: turn  
_

_

* * *

_

Levy McGarden had come to the conclusion that the male race was a confusing, sometimes insufferable, occasionally annoying, and mixed up race. There were many more adjectives that the intelligent young mage could come up with, but she didn't really feel like expressing herself further, seeing as her nerves and mind were frazzled enough as it was.

Unnerving. Strange. Bizarre. Unusual. The words popped up anyways.

Perplexing. Mysterious. Strong.

Gazille.

"Crap," Levy murmured, running a tired hand through cornflower blue hair. She had been up all night, tossing and turning because of the incident with Luxus earlier. Luxus and Gazille. And her. And Jet and Droy. She wasn't supposed to be thinking about it.

The Solid Script mage moaned and rolled over on her stomach, her blankets tangling around her legs and exposing one to the cool air of her room in the Fairy Hills dormitory. She already knew that she wasn't going to get any sleep tonight—her mind was buzzing and practically overflowing with theories and questions that had started to blend together and become redundant—"Gah," she grumbled. "Why can't I just shut off my brain?" she asked her pillow.

It didn't make any sense, but it did, and the trusting side of her—okay, her entire being was pretty much trusting to a fault and even she knew that—figured that the Iron Dragon Slayer had just made a complete one-eighty in his loyalties. Definitely not his personality. He was still as mean and cold as ever, but it seemed like his cruelty had seeped away. He changed, but he didn't. There was a difference between being mean and being cruel.

She shuddered. She hated to judge anyone so harshly, but he had been cruel. And he had been cruel to her and her team. It would be stupid to pretend that she wasn't afraid of him—she had still been terrified that very afternoon!

But the change was undeniable. It was the smallest shift, but it was there. Maybe she was just a little less afraid.

Just a little.

"Go to sleep, Levy," the young woman told herself. "Don't think about this. Just sleep. And dream. Dream of books. And flowers. And—oh who am I kidding." She untangled herself from her blankets and paced the areas of her room that were free of stacks of books restlessly.

Her ever so slight decrease of fear of the Iron Dragon Slayer only served up to bring forth an onslaught of questions that centered mostly around his motives and—oh yes, her trusting side.

And then there was the sliver of an untrusting, suspicious side which squawked alarms at her and rang enormous gongs and told her to stay the hell away and keep her bookworm curiosity to herself because he was _not_ worth it and it was _not_ going to end well.

It just wasn't.

Right?

_But he's _nakama_ now. He's one of us._ Yet almost every fiber of her being would scream for her to hide and stay far away whenever he was in her general vicinity. And he had beaten Shadow Gear so soundly that her confidence in her magical abilities had taken an equally sound beating. Lately, she'd felt her Scripts lacked their usual strength, and it hadn't taken her very long to figure out why. Any magic lost its strength when its mage lacked true conviction and faith. Magic was an extension of the mage, and grew, or shrank back, as the mage did.

She didn't like feeling so detached from her magic, to say the least. She absolutely abhorred feeling so utterly weak and helpless, like she had been lately.

_You have to stop being such a wimp, Levy. Buck up, _she ordered herself before stubbing her toe on a book. "Ow! Crap," she hissed, plopping down on the floor to nurse her injured appendage.

Time to plan.

She didn't have any answers and probably wouldn't ever get any answers, but, she had to face the facts. Gazille probably wasn't going anywhere soon, and it really wouldn't do for her to be shrinking away from someone who was supposed to be her _nakama_. Levy also didn't like feeling so uncomfortable in the guild, because for goodness' sake, it was her home! Why should she let one puny little mage ruin that for her?

The petite mage burst into giggles at that though. Gazille Reitfox was in no way, shape or form puny or little. Levy's giggles intensified at the mental image of a miniature Gazille running around and using his Iron Dragon attacks to complete missions.

She became thoughtful once more when her giggles died away—she really was crazy, talking and giggling to herself—and twined a strand of cornflower blue around a finger.

Maybe Gazille deserved her forgiveness, even though he probably didn't want it. Or maybe he didn't, which really wouldn't make a difference if he didn't want it. Maybe he had changed, maybe he didn't.

The fact of the matter was that it took two to tango, but someone had to take the first step. She certainly wasn't seeking any sort of reconciliation or friendship, just as he most likely was not seeking redemption from her, but for her own sake, she had to stop being afraid of him.

It didn't matter if he deserved forgiveness, if he wanted it, or if he had changed. For her own good, for her magic, for her team, she had to accept what had happened. She had to come to terms with it and—not let it go, no, and certainly never forget—be at peace with it. She had to take what had happened as a lesson of sorts, and learn from it.

She was a Fairy Tail mage, after all. She could only become stronger. And she _would_ become stronger.

Levy had read once that the bravest warrior was not the one without fear, but the one who knew his—or her—fears and faced them.

_Courage is being scared shitless and getting the hell up and fighting the fuck on anyways_, Mirajane had told her quite frankly one time, before that disastrous last mission. _Just don't be stupid about it._

It wasn't stupid, so she had that rule checked off. It was smart to be able to deal with Gazille in her own way—that is, to not hide from him or avoid him. After all, the day might come that she'd have to work with him on a mission or something like that, and it just wouldn't do if she was too terrified of him to be of any use.

She had her pride as a Fairy Tail mage, after all. As a mage, as a woman. She wouldn't let some other mage, some man change her so completely and make her be anyone other than herself.

_Be true to yourself. No matter what._ It was a line from Lucy's book, one that now struck a strong chord within her. It was cheesy and cliché, but it was so utterly true and necessary for living.

Living in fear was no way to live.

And she had to be the bigger person and give Gazille a chance, even if Jet and Droy didn't want to, and even if Gazille didn't want it, didn't want anything to do with her.

It was for her. She had to be okay with him to be okay with herself, to know that nothing fundamental about her had changed. It was a way to grow, it was overcoming her fears. Her fear of him.

Levy found herself sitting on her bed again, her head suddenly clear and her heart calm. The buzzing and frazzled nerves was gone. She had her resolution. A small smile flickered across her face as she absently gazed out the window.

She didn't have to be active or anything like that in her acceptance of the Iron Dragon Slayer, and she could take her time, if she needed to. He didn't have to know she wasn't afraid of him.

Levy giggled a little deviously, her daydreaming carrying her a little further on that train of thought. Maybe it would work to her advantage that he not know!

The Solid Script mage curled back into her blankets and snuggled up with her plush—ironically—dragon. She just wanted for her magic to be strong, and for her to feel safe and happy and unafraid at Fairy Tail again. So, she just had to be okay with Gazille.

He'd saved her. Maybe her life—she had no idea how powerful Luxus' attacks were—but he'd saved her.

If anything, even without her resolution, she had to at least give him credit for that. It didn't necessarily matter what his motivations were, or if his intentions were pure. He'd done it, and so she owed him for that. Never mind what he'd done to her previously and that really, he owed her more, because life didn't work that way, and she didn't work that way.

_Okay,_ Levy thought happily, letting herself drift off to the land of dreams,_ I can sleep now._

_

* * *

_**disclaimer: **I do not own Fairy Tail or anything related to it; I do, however, own this story idea/plotline/etc.

**written:** 19 January 2011

**published:** 19 January 2011 (because I'm fucking impatient, like Gazille and Natsu, and IDEC about school right now.)

**word count:** 1,521

**notes:**

-Dear general reading populace: I am so sorry that my notes are so freaking long. I'm going to start italicizing the important stuff. I talk too much, I really do. I have this need to explain my thinking, so these notes will probably always be numerous and long. It's okay, you don't have to read them. They're mostly for me, for future reference, so I can keep track of what I was thinking!

_-_It seems _shorter (but it's not according to the word count), more to help me get a feel of Levy's character (or my mental image of Levy.)_ Also because it was written while very studiously not studying for a Statistics test. I see Levy as a girl who is as strong and feisty as any of the other Fairy Tail mages, but of course, she has her own Levy twist. She's a little sweeter, more innocent (at least now; I think she's seventeen in the current arc, or sixteen), but I don't doubt that she can be very mischievous and deviously clever.

-I realized that _Gazille's eyes are supposed to be red_, but you know, fuck that, _I'm going with onyx because it's sexier and there's major symbolism in him being so dark and Levy being so light_ (cinnamon eyes, cornflower hair), which by the way, is also me taking liberties with her character because I have no clue what her eye color is. Also, him being nicknamed "Kurogane" and having dark, spiky hair and crimson eyes makes me want to sob because TRC by CLAMP has Kurogane and I love him to death and TRC is over.

_-Nakama will be italicized based on the assumption that not everyone is aware of its meaning (which I have come to understand loosely translates into very dear/close friend or teammate; don't ask me, I'm no Japanese expert) and also because it is not, in fact, a word of the English language. (What a surprise.) And I just like italics._

**reply(-ies)/shoutout(s):** To my very first reviewer, _Captain Awesome_, an anon, thank you so much for making my night by taking the time to review! Your comments were very much taken to heart-okay, yeah, I squealed and screamed and danced around my room for at least five minutes. (Abandoned semblance of dignity-check!) Yes, I do realize that the no-caps thing is a turn-off (I've experienced it myself), but I'm so glad you stuck it through! (There are some fantastic authors in other fandoms from whom I picked this up, so...don't give up hope!) It's very much a stylistic thing, as I'm madly OCD and that's just...well, yeah. Thank you so, so much for reviewing!

**request(s): **

-If you caught any mistakes (of any kind), please let me know!

-Tell me how it turned out and _review_, yeah?

-Come back for the next storydrabblething if you liked it?


	3. surprise

**Summary:** Levy and Gazille take steps forwards and backwards, life takes twists, paths take turns. The evolution of their relationship. Series of interrelated oneshots; nonchronological. _Three: Mirajane winked at Levy conspiratorially—"I didn't say anything to him."_

Warning: This is totally short and the stuff at the end most definitely eclipses the actual piece...which was surprisingly difficult to write, although the scene played perfectly in my head.

* * *

**of steps, twists, and turns**

levy x gazille

_three: surprise_

_

* * *

_

"Lucy? What's wrong?" Levy asked in dismay. She hurriedly took a seat next to her dejected friend. "Lucy?"

The Stellar Spirit mage looked up in surprise. "Oh, hi Levy! I didn't even see you there."

"Are you worrying about your rent again?" Levy patted her back.

"No, I'm fine with rent this month…"

"Then what is it?" Levy pressed.

Lucy sighed, then smiled. "Don't worry about it, Levy. It's fine."

"Doesn't look fine, Lu. Tell me!" the Solid Script mage urged. The blonde groaned and banged her forehead against the countertop.

"I don't know. I mean, I do. One is worse, but I mean. You know? Um. It's just…" she huffed. "My dad is just a world-class _jerk_. And Natsu is a clueless, blind—gah!" Lucy growled.

Levy hugged her around the shoulders. "It'll get better."

Lucy ran a tired hand through her hair and stared blankly down at the countertop. "No, no, I don't think it will. My dad is never going to change. He's too narcissistic, too self-centered, too arrogant. He doesn't _care _about anything or anyone but himself," she all but snarled, hands clenching into tight fists. Levy was startled by the unusual amount of loathing on her friend's face. "I thought he'd change, but he didn't. And I am so done being hurt by him and I just _hate him so much_."

"Oh, Lucy, you don't mean that."

"I know," she said glumly. "I can't hate him for very long. He's my father." Her lips trembled, but her eyes stayed clear. Levy hugged her again, feeling as lost as ever when it came to reassuring her friend about her father.

"Stay hopeful. It'll get better, you'll see. So what about Natsu?"

"Oh my _God_." Lucy banged her head on the counter again. "He—" she stopped short when two mugs of steaming tea were pushed towards them. "Oh—uh—erm—thank you." Levy looked up at Gazille and felt her jaw drop slightly.

"Th-thank you," the Script Mage echoed.

Gazille scowled and looked away. "She," he jerked his head back to where Mirajane was, in the back room, "said it usually helps on bad days." Without another word, he returned to helping Mirajane carry things to the bar.

The two friends stared at each other, then the tea. Levy was the first to shrug and take a sip—it was surprisingly good. Lucy followed suit and almost immediately sighed in happiness. It _was_ relaxing…

Gazille came back a moment later.

"Oi," he said. "Idiot will figure it out eventually."

A little while later, Mirajane winked at Levy conspiratorially—"I didn't say anything to him."

Levy was at a loss for words.

* * *

**disclaimer: **I do not own Fairy Tail or anything related to it; I do, however, own this story idea/plotline/etc.

**written:** 20-23 January 2011

**published: **23 January 2011

**word count:** 445

**notes:**

-This is another "step." (Hopefully, I'll come up with a "twist" soon!) Really short, but I wanted to get something out and I did promise myself to do some dialogue. Not my best, I admit, but I find it decent for a first dialogue attempt.

-I do realize that Lucy's reaction might seem a little extreme and I justify that in three ways. One, after the irritating event, one is almost always the most irked. Then one calms down later. Two, I really don't have that much faith in Lucy's father changing, and especially not so soon. It's a big lifestyle adjustment for him to make, and well, yeah. Three...yeah, projected my personal life into this. Sorry!

-_THANK YOU SO MUCH TO ALL MY REVIEWERS AND THE PEOPLE WHO FAVORITE/ALERTED THIS STORY. YOU MADE EVERY DAY I GOT ONE _(and believe me, I've had a shitty week)_ SO INCREDIBLYFREAKING BETTER_. I'd list you guys out but I'm too lazy to go find the list that I wrote down (yeah, I wrote one down. I went a little nuts over getting the reviews.) But really, thank you all so much! I really, really appreciate it. This story is really saving my sanity right now, and you guys just make writing it fun. +hearts+

-Captain Awesome, since I can't reply to your reviews like I do to everyone else...thank you for reviewing again! I'm glad I made your day, because your review definitely made mine when I got it. I absolutely adore how you address everything and manage to calm my insecurities about the details/the story in general! :3 Prettyprettyplease find/make an account so I can message you back!

-To everyone, I will do my best to update faster! Unfortunately, life events happened and I wasn't able to publish another one directly after Chapter Two. I had every intention to. :(

I really enjoy writing this story and getting the feedback. However, I do have finals this week, so we'll see. (Honestly, I usually write more when I'm stressed, so. Keep a sharp eye out! Unfortunately, I keep spinning out chapters I want to hold back until you guys get a better idea of how I view their relationship. I'm so eager to jump to when they're all steady and stuff, but the journey to the steady relationship is SO much more interesting and twisty!)

**request(s):**

-If you caught any mistakes (of any kind), please let me know!

-Tell me how it turned out and _review_, yeah?

-Come back for the next storydrabblething if you liked it?

_-Would it be interesting to see a separate, ongoing story (possibly AU) every five or ten chapters, or should I publish that as a separate story?_


	4. unexpected

**Summary:** Levy and Gazille take steps forwards and backwards, life takes twists, paths take turns. The evolution of their relationship. Series of interrelated oneshots; nonchronological. _Four: Gazille wasn't really sure why he did it. He really wasn't. Maybe it was the alcohol._

_

* * *

_

**of steps, twists, and turns**

levy x gazille

_four: unexpected  
_

_

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_

Gazille wasn't really sure why he did it. He really wasn't. Maybe it was the alcohol—okay, fine. There was no goddamn alcohol. He sure as hell _wished_ there was, though. Maybe then he would have a perfectly acceptable explanation for his totally, completely—there were just no fucking words.

"Holy shit." _HolyholymotherfuckingSHIT._

_Obviously_, he had just…temporarily gone insane. And committed an intensely, completely, ridiculously, unthinkably _stupid_ act. A crime.

If there were any doubts in his mind—which, there weren't—that he was going to hell, there most definitely weren't now.

"Fuck."

_Gazille-kun_, Lluvia's voice scolded in his head,_ you should really curse less._

"Gah, fuck that."

"Gazille-kun, why are you talking to yourself?"

"_Gah!_" The Iron Dragon Slayer jumped in a very unmanly manner and flailed around for a moment. Lluvia looked at him curiously, her head tipped slightly to the side.

"Are you ill? Is everything all right?"

"What? Yeah. I'm fine. Go away."

"Really, Gazille-kun, I don't think that's very nice. _Gray!"_ Lluvia bellowed. "Gazille-kun said something mean to me!"

To Gazille's complete and utter shock, Gray bounded up—yes, _bounded_—in all his clothes-less glory and immediately began firing ice at him in defense of his "great, mighty, powerful, beautiful, wonderful Lluvia-sama."

"What the fuck!" Gazille dodged and sped away. Okay, wait. Why the hell wasn't he fighting back? And why the hell was Lluvia calling herself "I" instead of "Lluvia" and why the bloody fricking hell was Gray at Lluvia's beck and call?

"This is so _wrong_," the Dragon Slayer groaned to himself. "The whole goddamn world has gone nuts—_hey._"

Gazille woke up with an enormous scowl on his face. So the second half of his dream that included him freaking out in a totally wuss-ish manner and Lluvia and Gray and whatever the hell that freaky shit was was totally not okay with him. He didn't need that in his head. His dreams. _Whatever._

But.

The first part of it was…he grinned in spite of himself.

…and then promptly smacked himself. "Aw, _shit_."

_Stop, idiot. It was not good. Or amazing. Or great. It was just a dream. Okay, no, it was obviously a nightmare. Yeah. Nightmare. Not going to happen._

_

* * *

_

"Why the hell is that bastard in such a bad mood?" Natsu grouched as he flopped into a chair at the table Lucy was at.

"Which one?" she asked calmly, sipping at her drink and continuing to read her magazine. She, unlike whichever "bastard" Natsu was referring to (Gray or Gazille), was in a fantastic mood.

"Metal bastard."

Lucy promptly—and poorly—hid a grin behind her magazine.

Natsu eyed her suspiciously. "Why are _you_ in such a _good_ mood?"

"Oh, Natsu," Lucy said, eyes twinkling mischievously. "Why wouldn't I be? Today's a lovely day and I found the perfect job for us!"

"But _Lucy,_" Natsu whined, "we just got back _yesterday_ and your 'perfect' jobs are always really boring and you haven't been letting me—" he wilted under the Stellar Spirit mage's dangerous glare. "Aye?"

"Natsu, just because we don't risk our lives on every job we go on and I don't let you go all nuts does not mean the jobs are _boring._ You just like destroying things too much!"

"Hey, I gotta get stronger and stronger! I hafta practice!"

"Then get someone to build a sparring ground somewhere so you can blow off steam without destroying everything every time we go on a job!" Lucy griped. "The last time you did that, the reward wasn't even enough to cover the damages!"

"I can't help it," Natsu grumbled somewhat dejectedly. Lucy softened.

"I know. You keep getting stronger," she smiled. Natsu perked up at the compliment immediately.

"What's the job again?"

Lucy smiled inwardly at having successfully diverted Natsu's attention away from his original question.

"Well, we have to travel a little but…"

* * *

"Gazille-kun?"

"Go away," Gazille grumped.

"Lluvia only wanted to ask if you were alright," the Water mage returned reproachfully, sitting down next to the Iron Dragon Slayer at the bar. Gazille muttered something under his breath before turning to his (only) friend.

"I'm fine." He stretched mouth into an utterly unconvincing smile. "See?" Lluvia sighed.

"Did something happen?"

"Nah." He shook his head. "Don't worry about it."

"Lluvia always worries for Gazille-kun, although since he came to Fairy Tail, she has worried less. But she will not ask more if Gazille-kun does not want her to."

"'s nothin' big, Lluvia." He looked at the paper in her hand. "Goin' on a job?"

"Yes!" Lluvia practically glowed with excitement. "Gray-sama has asked for Lluvia's assistance for this job!" Gazille couldn't help but smirk.

"Good for you."

"Yes! Lluvia is very happy."

"No kidding."

"Gazille-kun, Lluvia must get ready to leave. Lluvia will see you when she and Gray-sama return!"

"Yeah, yeah. Have fun."

"I will!" Lluvia practically pranced off.

"Gazille!" Gazille groaned. He just couldn't catch a break today. First, the idiot Salamander, then Lluvia, now this. Couldn't a man sulk in peace? "Gaziiilleee, anyone home?" Levy waved a hand in front of his face and he almost choked on his drink when he saw that it was her.

Oh shit. Of all the people—"Yeah."

Levy waved a job request in his face. "Come with me!"

Gazille blinked. Surely he heard wrong.

"Gazilllee. Please?"

Apparently not. Well, fuck. He didn't exactly want to be around her at the moment, and he especially didn't want to deal with her idiot sidekicks…

"Please? Jet and Droy are both on their own job right now and I don't really want to go by myself. And Lily is on his trip, so I know you haven't been on any jobs lately."

_Wait_, Tweedle-dee and Tweedle-dum weren't here?

Instantly, Gazille's dark mood lifted. Well. That made things _infinitely_ better.

"Yeah, sure." Levy looked surprised.

"You didn't even read the request!" she accused. Gazille chuckled and patted her head.

"Need the rent. When do we leave?"

"Um, well…now, I guess."

* * *

"Blegh," Levy groaned, dropping onto her hotel bed gracelessly. "I'm so_ sore_." Gazille snorted and laid down on his.

"I wonder why."

"Hey!" Levy waved a finger in his general direction, as she had covered her face with her pillow. "Not all of us can have steel hard bodies that protect us from things that are falling because certain Dragon Slayers decide to go all Natsu on us! And I definitely don't have your reflexes _and_ we had to help with rebuilding today, do you think that really helped me at all?"

"I told you that you didn't have to help!" Gazille argued back, despite feeling guilty about her condition, since it really was his fault. Not that she couldn't handle it, of course. Levy was tough. He just felt bad. A little.

"Oh, come on, you know me, of course I was going to help," Levy scoffed. "Besides, I couldn't let you terrify the poor, innocent citizens of the town."

Gazille paused. "…you're makin' fun of me," he accused.

Levy giggled and rolled over onto her stomach and pitched her pillow at him. "Yes, you big scary lug, I'm teasing you. Is that okay?"

"If I didn't know you were sore, I'd throw this back at you," Gazille grouched, tossing the pillow back onto her bed.

"Ah, so you _are_ okay with teasing!" Her cinnamon brown eyes sparkled. The Iron Dragon Slayer scowled and stood to tower over her menacingly.

"No."

"I'm _so_ scared." Levy grinned up at him. "It's okay, Gazille, I won't tell anyone that you're really big softiie—_eeek!_ Gazille! Gazille, no! _No!_ No, come on, please, I didn't—" Levy gasped for breath between her giggling fits. "Ah! Stop, stop, please!"

Gazille grinned and continued to tickle her sides mercilessly. "Oh, come on!" she gasped. "Ah, ah, ah, _sore_!" Levy continued to giggle and thrash in spite of her words. "Sore, _sore_! Hurts, Gazille!" Immediately, Gazille retracted his hands.

"Sorry," he said gruffly. He sat by her head and ruffled her hair. "You okay?"

Levy made a face at him. "You know I don't like being tickled—or when you mess up my hair!" Gazille ruffled her hair even more in response and Levy stuck her tongue out at him. "Mean."

"You know it."

"Mm." Levy hugged her pillow to her chest and looked up at him. "Nowhere as mean as you pretend to be."

"That better not be more teasing," he said warningly.

"It's true!" Levy protested. Even Gazille had to smile a little bit at the earnestness on her face. He patted her head.

"Not really."

"_Gazille_," Levy began.

"Look, Levy, I'm no saint—"

"You don't think I know that, Gazille?" Levy sat up and looked directly into his eyes. "Of course I do."

"I don't regret what I did before," he said flatly. "With Phantom." Levy stiffened. "Most of the stuff. It wasn't a Dark Guild, but we weren't anything like Fairy Tail. I…" he scowled and ran a hand through his wild mane, frustrated. "You know I'm sorry for what I did to you and your team. But I just don't know if I'd take it back." Levy inhaled sharply and clenched her eyes shut. Gazille plowed on." I don't know if I'd go back and not do it all over again. I'm…not a good person."

"I know that," Levy said quietly. "But," she said fiercely, "that doesn't mean that you don't deserve the chance Master gave you, doesn't mean you can't change. Besides," she smiled, "you know what? I got stronger because of what you did, and who's to say that we'd even _be_ here if Phantom hadn't started a war with Fairy Tail? I wouldn't go back and change anything either," the Solid Script mage said firmly.

Gazille could only stare at her in shock, his jaw slightly slack. "You…you're really something," he said at last. Levy smiled brightly.

"Thanks." She bumped her shoulder against his. "Gazille, it's been _ages_ since then. Stop beating yourself up over it."

The Dragon Slayer raised an eyebrow at her. "Wouldn't it be bad if I wasn't?"

"Yeah, but, that's not what you do. You try to make up for it. And you have." She gave him a bright smile and ruffled his hair. "Who got me out of the S-class exam disaster alive?"

Gazille smirked in spite of the awful memories that came with the events of several months ago.

"Savin' your life seems to be the way to get in good with you." Levy grinned.

"It's a good thing you're the only one who had to 'get in good' with me, then, because I'm not usually in life-threatening situations."

"Good thing I was around to haul yer ass outta trouble when you _were_," he corrected.

"Hey! I can take care of myself." Levy puffed up her cheeks at him in a pout.

"Sure, sure." He patted her head. "Go shower, you stink." Levy whacked him with her pillow.

"Stupid Gazille," she grumbled, flouncing off to the bathroom. Gazille chuckled.

"I heard that."

"Good!"

* * *

"Oi. Oi. Levy. Levy, wake up." Levy thrashed around her bed and kicked Gazille in the stomach in her sleep. Gazille grunted. That hurt a little more than it probably should have. Then again, Levy had gotten much stronger since the first time they met. "Levy!" he hissed. "Wake up!"

"_No!_" Levy yelled. _"_No! Lu! Cana! _Watch out!_"Tears flowed down her cheeks. "Oh, God, thank God—_Gazille!_" She let out a terrified scream. "_No, Gazille, NO!_"

"_Levy!_" Gazille bellowed, shaking her awake. Her eyes flew open and she looked around frantically, not registering that he was right in front of her.

"Wait_, _no, _please_," she begged, "you _have_ to let me—G-Gazille?" she gasped out, shaking hands touching his face.

"I'm here. I'm right here. I'm fine. It's over," he said reassuringly, stroking her hair.

"Y-you're o-okay." Her lips trembled. "Oh, God, you're okay!" A fresh flood of tears over took her and a hysterical Levy threw her arms around the shocked Iron Dragon Slayer and clung to him tightly. "I was…I just…you were…and the S-class…I thought you were…" she babbled incoherently. "I'm so glad you're okay!" Levy sobbed in relief.

"H-hey. It was just a dream." Hesitantly, he brought his arms around her and patted her back.

"I-I thought…I thought…" she heaved another huge sob and clung to him even more tightly. "Oh God, I thought you were dead, and I…"

It occurred to Gazille that bending over awkwardly and having a crying Script Mage hanging off of his neck was bound to get extremely uncomfortable quickly, so he somehow adjusted himself to sit on her bed and hold her to him in a more comfortable position.

Of course, that meant that she was basically—okay, she was sitting in his lap and hanging off of him and crying and the newly discovered part of himself (thanks to those damn dreams he kept having) that was very much infatuated with the young woman had to be beaten back before he did something stupid, like take advantage of the situation.

So Gazille held the sobbing Script Mage gingerly and awkwardly while stroking her hair and rubbing her back as soothingly as he knew how. Which is to say, not very well, but it seemed to work for Levy, because she started to calm down. He was pretty sure that his shirt was soaked through, but that was okay.

"'m sorry," Levy mumbled into said shirt.

"It's fine. You better now?" He felt her nod against him.

"Can you…can you just…" her voice broke. "I don't want to be alone…"

Gazille hugged her tightly. He hadn't had nightmares since he was a young child, and he normally wasn't a very sympathetic person, but it bothered him to see her like this.

"Go back to sleep," he ordered gruffly.

A little while later, he heard her breathing slow and even out, signaling to him that she had fallen asleep. Her arms hadn't loosened around him, so he gently eased himself out of her hold and adjusted her so she was curled against him, her head against his chest. She was so _small_, he realized. Sure, he'd always used her head as an armrest—lately, just to annoy her—but…

Gazille looked down at the mop of cornflower blue, and to her fine features. Her cheeks were covered in dried tear-tracks, and there was still a little frown in her eyebrows.

She had to have been dreaming about the disastrous S-class trials, Gazille realized. They had all brushed with death more than once on that island. He shuddered to himself. Even he had dreamt about it more than once.

He shoved those thoughts aside. There was no use dwelling upon them anyways.

* * *

"Ugh." Gazille groaned when he woke up, his neck stiff and sore. He had slept sitting up all night, apparently. He rolled it and winced as it cracked more than once. "Ow."

"Good morning!" Levy chirped happily. Gazille scowled up at her bright, sunny smile. He would never understand morning people.

"Morning," he mumbled.

"I got breakfast," Levy waved at the table in their room. "It'll make you feel better." The Iron Dragon Slayer grunted his thanks and swung his legs over the side of his bed. "There's coffee," she added, patting his head.

"What time is it?"

"We still have a few hours before our train," she replied, waving off his concern. Gazille looked up at her and opened his mouth to say something.

To his complete and utter astonishment, she bent down and pressed her lips to his cheek, lingering a little too long for it to be entirely innocent or solely friendly. His words promptly died in his throat.

"Thank you for last night," she said sincerely, flashing a bright smile at him.

Gazille gaped at her. Then he realized he should probably say something back. "Uh. Sure. Yeah. Anytime." Was that coherent? Oh, God, he couldn't even think straight.

"Breakfast?" Levy asked, holding a hand out to him.

Gazille shook himself out of his stupor. "Yeah." He took the proffered hand and let her try to pull him up, grinning when she discovered that he was throwing his weight against her.

"Gazille!" the cornflower-haired mage huffed. He laughed, then relented and allowed her to yank him to his feet.

"Ow, woman," he drawled.

"You know what, just for that, I am going shopping on your money and you are carrying stuff for me."

He froze. She had managed to drag him out shopping just once, and it had been extremely, extremely boring.

"For books?"

"Yup!"

Gazille groaned. "Give me that coffee."

"_Hey_!"

* * *

**disclaimer: **I do not own Fairy Tail or anything related to it; I do, however, own this story idea/plotline/etc.

**written:** 21 January 2011 - 8 February 2011

**published: **8 February 2011

**word count:** 2,786

**notes:**

-This was an attempt at a "twist." I originally meant to write their first kiss, but it just didn't fit. The twist is more subtle, and I'm not even sure what it was because I actually think there was more than one! Well, okay, that's a lie. The main one is Gazille's realization of the feelings he has for Levy. I think?

-This took a really long time to write...but only because I couldn't figure out how I wanted to end it! It was just the last half a page of the story that prevented me from posting all this time. I wrote out at least five different endings, but didn't like any of them. You know, it looks really short on here, especially since it's so dialogue-centric, but it's 8.5 pages on Word!

-_THANK YOU SO MUCH TO ALL MY REVIEWERS AND THE PEOPLE WHO FAVORITE/ALERTED THIS STORY. YOU MADE EVERY DAY I GOT ONE _(and believe me, I've had a shitty week)_ SO INCREDIBLYFREAKING BETTER_. I'd list you guys out but I'm too lazy to go find the list that I wrote down (yeah, I wrote one down. I went a little nuts over getting the reviews.) But really, thank you all so much! I really, really appreciate it. This story is really saving my sanity right now, and you guys just make writing it fun. +hearts+

-For once in my life, I don't have a million things to say. I guess it's because I don't even remember most of what I wanted to say, since I wrote most of this back on the 21st!

**request(s):**

-If you caught any mistakes (of any kind), please let me know!

-Tell me how it turned out and _review_, yeah?

-Come back for the next storydrabblething if you liked it?


	5. glamorous

**Summary: **Levy and Gazille take steps forwards and backwards, life takes twists, paths take turns. The evolution of their relationship. Series of interrelated oneshots; nonchronological. _Five: Girls play dress up, Levy is insecure, Gazille is in shock, and wins over another piece of Levy's heart._

* * *

**of steps, twists, and turns**

levy x gazille

_five: glamorous_

* * *

Erza stared at Lucy's table and its contents warily. "Are you sure about this?" she asked finally.

"Of course!" Lucy said as she dragged over a full-length mirror. "No girl _needs_ make-up, but every girl should know how to use it!"

"It'll be fun!" Levy chimed in happily. Beside her, Lluvia looked just as wary as Erza and a tad frightened. Wendy, on the other hand, was just as excited as the Spirit and Solid Script mages.

"So it can be considered a skill?" Erza mused. "Interesting. Proceed, then." Lucy grinned and eyed her scarlet-haired friend critically, deciding what colors to use.

"Wendy's still too young," Charle objected as the Sky Dragon Slayer pored over the countless bottles, tubes, palettes, brushes, and clips that the female mages had pooled together.

"Charle," Wendy rolled her eyes. "I'm almost eighteen—I'm _definitely_ old enough. Besides, it's like Erza said! It's a skill." Charle settled down by Wendy grumpily, but also mildly intrigued by a tube of electric red lipstick.

"Yeah," Cana cackled from her lazy position on Lucy's bed, "for luring in men."

"Oh, Cana," Mirajane huffed disapprovingly. "It's not about men, it's about women. We know we're beautiful, but sometimes we need things to help us feel it. And then we're confident, and we are at our most beautiful!"

"And it's fun," Levy smiled as she rifled through warm spring colors for Wendy's nails. "Robin's egg blue sound good?" Wendy nodded eagerly. "What girl doesn't like dressing up and going all-out glamorous once in a while?"

"You know, I think this calls for a girls' night out," Lisanna declared as she began to straighten Lluvia's hair.

Lucy swept pale pink lipstick over Erza's lips expertly before straightening and declaring, "We need music!"

"We could go to that new fancy restaurant that opened up," Lluvia offered.

"Ooh, perfect!" Mirajane squealed. "Maybe we should turn it into a huge date night," she suggested.

"That defeats the purpose of a girls' night out," Lisanna argued. They all jumped slightly when Lucy began blasting music.

"I've heard very high praises of the restaurant," Erza remarked as Lucy returned to carefully brush eyeshadow over her eyelids.

"Then it's settled," Lisanna smiled.

"Levy," Wendy said, "I thought you had a date with Gazille tonight though?"

"Well, that's no reason for you all to not have fun tonight," Levy smiled, finishing off the teen's last pinky. "I'll be there next time."

"That was very fast," Lluvia commented, impressed. The other blue-haired mage grinned as Wendy ooh-ed over her nails.

"Being a Solid Script mage gives me practice," she joked, screwing the bottle shut. "Okay, Wendy, do you want to try to copy me while I put on make-up or do you want me to put it on for you?"

"Copy?"

"Okay, so…"

* * *

"Macao, have you seen Gazille?" The older mage turned at Levy's question and let out a whistle.

"You look great, Levy-chan," he grinned. "Special occasion?"

"Not really. All the girls were at Lucy's and we kind of went crazy with the make-up," Levy admitted. Macao chuckled.

"Women."

"Hey!" She whacked him with her purse.

"Female mages—ow! Ow, okay, okay. Why couldn't you have grown up being nice and not scary like all the other women," he grumbled jokingly. Levy raised her purse again threateningly.

"I will use this," she warned.

"All right, all right," the man chuckled. "What happened to respecting your elders?"

"You're not that old…yet," Levy teased.

"I resent that. Anyways, the kid said something about showering before finding you."

"Thanks, Macao," Levy pecked him on the cheek before flouncing out of the guild.

Wakaba's head turned noticeably as he returned to the table with food for him and Macao.

"Was that…?" he asked with wide eyes.

"Kids," Macao sighed as he dug into his potatoes, "they grow up so fast."

* * *

"Gazille?" Levy let herself into Gazille's apartment. "It's me. Are you home?"

No response.

"Gazille," she called again. "Lily?"

The Exceed padded out of his bedroom. "Gazille's in the show—wow," he smiled warmly. "You look great, Levy. Is tonight special or something?"

Levy held her arms out for the Exceed to jump into. "The girls and I were playing around with make-up," the Solid Script mage replied as she hugged him tightly before releasing him. "Lisanna insisted on straightening my hair," she explained, tugging on a long blue lock self-consciously.

"It's different, but not in a bad way," Pantherlily reassured her.

Levy's wavy locks had been straightened and then swept back one side by a pair of glittering butterfly clips. Her cinnamon brown eyes were lined by black and shadowed by smoky, shimmering gray and black.

"You don't think Gazille will think I'm…being ridiculous?" she whispered.

"Gazille doesn't care about appearances, but he's not incapable of appreciating them. You know that."

"I know, I know," Levy sighed. "I've just never dressed up quite so much…" She touched the glittering crystals that dangled from her earlobes. "I even put on lipstick. I hate lipstick. Do you know how long it's been since I've worn a dress?"

"I assume it has been a while."

"It's been almost two years," she groaned, wishing she could rub her eyes. She resisted the urge for the sake of the sparkling colors on her eyelids.

"They are not really necessary for jobs," Pantherlily pointed out.

"And heels," she showed him the strappy black stilettos that Lucy had loaned her. "Four inches. I'm not used to it. Maybe I should just go home and change," she sighed. "This isn't me."

"Are you uncomfortable or worried about what Gazille will think?"

Levy sat down on the couch heavily. "I know he wouldn't just partner up with me for missions randomly, and I know we've been together for a while, but…still. I just want him to take me seriously, you know?" Pantherlily looked up at her seriously.

"You are a skilled, talented, and powerful mage. You are extremely intelligent and humorous and kind. Gazille knows this. He is not the kind of person to be attracted to a woman solely based on appearances." The Exceed shrugged. "The fact that you are extraordinarily beautiful is merely a bonus."

Levy flushed. Lucy and Erza and all the other women of the guild were extraordinarily beautiful. She usually just hoped for cute, especially because of her height.

"You do not need to worry about him taking you seriously. He always has. And he is still here, is he not?" Pantherlily patted her leg reassuringly. "Also, I have come to understand that women enjoy dressing up like this," he gestured to her eveningwear. "If _you_ like it, why not wear it?"

The Solid Script mage smoothed her hands over her dress with a smile. She was wearing a strapless, violet dress that clung to her body in all the right places and ended just above her knees, the color muted by an overlay of sheer black fabric that glittered with hundreds of tiny crystals. A simple black wrap hung around her arms and she held a matching black purse in one hand.

Levy had seen the dress while on a rare shopping trip with Lucy—who had, at the time, just begun to enjoy and maintain steady income unimpeded by Natsu's, Gray's, and Erza's destructive rampages—and fallen in love with it. Even knowing she might never have the opportunity to wear it, she had still purchased it. Wearing it made her feel like a princess.

"You're right. Thanks, Lily."

The Exceed patted her leg once more. "Anytime." His ears twitched in the direction of the bathroom. "Sounds like he's finally done. He is as bad as I hear women are supposed to be."

"Oi," Gazille growled loudly, "I heard that, cat."

"I know," Pantherlily replied unrepentantly.

"I'll be ready soon, Levy. Got back from my job later than I thought I would," Gazille called.

"It's fine, no rush," Levy called back. Nevertheless, Gazille stepped into the living room just five minutes later as he buttoned up his shirt.

"Let's…go…" his voice died when he looked up at Levy, who had stood from the couch when she heard his loud footsteps heading her way. He goggled slightly. "Uh."

Levy had only seen him at a loss for words a few times before. Still, she flushed more from embarrassment than the happiness—and smugness—that flooded through her at his stunned reaction to her appearance.

"Wow," he said collecting himself. Gazille cleared his throat. "You look…uh…" he cleared his throat. "You look really nice."

A smile blossomed across Levy's face and she tucked away a laugh at Pantherlily's exasperated expression. "Thanks," she said shyly. "You too."

Gazille glanced down. "Maybe I should…match you." Levy's heels clicked across the wood floor of the apartment as she walked over to the Iron Dragon Slayer and looped her arm around his. She was pleasantly surprised when she found her heels propelled her to just above Gazille's shoulder.

"Come on, we'll be late for our reservation." She smiled brightly at him and tugged him towards the door.

"Are you sure?" he muttered gruffly. "You're all…" Levy leaned up to kiss his cheek.

"We match just fine. Don't worry about it."

"I don't want you to be embarrassed." Onyx colored eyes focused determinedly on the floor as a slight flush rose on the Iron Dragon Slayer's neck.

"What?" Levy asked, astonished. "Gazille, there is nothing about you I would ever be embarrassed about, least of all how you look!" Before she could add more, Pantherlily dropped a black blazer on top of Gazille's head.

"I hate jackets," the Iron Dragon Slayer grumbled, yanking it on in spite of his words.

"It's fancier," the Exceed retorted. "At least I'm not making you wear a tie." Levy hid a smile behind her hands.

"Making me!" Gazille said, outraged.

"I can't have my human embarrassing me," Pantherlily all but sniffed.

"Why, you—"

"And don't wear your boots," the Exceed added as he dodged a swipe. Levy couldn't contain a giggle.

"Bossy cat, I'll show you," Gazille growled under his breath as he shoved his feet into a pair of dress shoes that had obviously only been worn a handful of times, likely for jobs that had dress codes.

Levy kissed him on the cheek when he straightened and slipped her arm into his. "Ready?"

"Yeah. Lily, lock up for us," Gazille half-asked, half-ordered. The Exceed rolled his eyes and pushed them out the door.

"Have fun," he replied as the couple walked down the stairs that led up to Gazille's apartment.

"Bye, Lily!" Levy waved.

* * *

"I'm turning off the light," Gazille said. "Do you need anything?"

"No," Levy replied as she tucked herself under the covers of his bed. "I'm good."

The light flicked off, and a moment later, Gazille slid into the bed. His arm automatically curled around her, pulling her into him. Levy sighed happily at the warmth on her back. "I had a lot of fun today," she told him softly.

"Me too," he mumbled into her hair. It had been a long day for him, although enjoyable nonetheless.

"We could have put off our date," Levy began worriedly. She always wanted to give him the day to rest when he came back from jobs, but he always insisted that he was fine.

"I'm fine," Gazille said firmly, kissing the top of her head. "Besides…" he cleared his throat uncomfortably. "You—it would have been different." As always, she guessed what he had been about to say, although this time it had a little more to do with the fact that it was something she had been worrying over all night.

"Was it weird? Did I look weird?" Levy whispered into the dark, unaware that he had turned slightly red moments earlier.

"No," he murmured, "I was goin' to say that if we had put it off, I wouldn't have gotten to see you all dolled up."

Gazille was definitely red now. Sure, he didn't care about appearances, but damn. It wasn't that he didn't think Levy was beautiful—he did, and regularly had to stop himself from staring at her, although that wasn't all to do with her beauty—but he'd never seen her dressed up like that, and he'd be lying if he said that it didn't inflate is manly ego a great deal to think that she had dressed up, well, for him. Not that he'd ever say that out loud.

"You…you looked amazing. But," he added, "you don't need all the extra stuff."

"But it wasn't weird?" Levy turned to look at him, curling into his warmth. Her eyes had adjusted to the darkness, and she could make out the outline of his face.

"Look, I'm pretty sure this is one of those girl things that I'll never understand," Gazille said gruffly. "It's weird to me, but if it's fun and you like it, then, it doesn't matter what I think," a large hand brushed against her cheek with a gentleness no one would have thought the Iron Dragon Slayer possessed, "you can do whatever the hell you want. You always look…" he trailed off and sighed.

Gazille curled his arm around the petite Solid Script mage and pulled her into him even more. He kissed her forehead. "You're _always_ beautiful to me, Levy," he murmured.

An enormous smile blossomed across her face, along with a blush she was glad the darkness hid. She snuggled into him even more.

"You're not so bad yourself," she teased.

He snorted in amusement and tucked his chin into her hair. "Go to sleep, woman."

* * *

**disclaimer: **I do not own Fairy Tail or anything related to it; I do, however, own this story idea/plotline/etc.

**written:** 1 May 2011 - 26 August 2011 (Look at how long that took!)

**published: **26 August 2011

**word count:** 2,266

**notes:**

-I am SO sorry that it took me so long to update! I have no excuses. Well, I do. They involve life and writer's block.

-This is intended to be another "step." Yes, it's pretty sappy. That wasn't really my intention. I wanted it to be about Levy being insecure about her beauty, about how Gazille thinks she's beautiful anyways, inside and out. Of course, the inside part didn't really come up directly, but I meant for there to be the implication with the whole Gazille doesn't care about appearances thing. And I wanted to make a statement about how they're partners in every sense of the word, and they support and love each other (although it hasn't been said at this point in the timeline), because Levy isn't the only one with insecurities.

-Are you guys at all interested in seeing me actually write a date for them? I considered adding it in, but I didn't really know what to write, and I didn't want to get off topic.

-Thank you to those who reviewed/favorited this story!

**request(s):**

-If you caught any mistakes (of any kind), please let me know!

-Tell me how it turned out and _review_, yeah? (Please! I'm always eager to know your opinions, constructive criticism and whatnot.)

-Come back for the next storydrabblething if you liked it?


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